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Archive 2017 · FE 35mm f/1.4 arrived - looks well-centered to me. Your thoughts?

PrecisionPhoto
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p.5 #1 · p.5 #1 · FE 35mm f/1.4 arrived - looks well-centered to me. Your thoughts?

MrTMan wrote:
I've had like 4 or 5 copies of the 35/1.4 in my hands and all of them have the same certificate with the same guy's signature. It's clearly pre printed, and clearly it doesn't mean much. As opposed to Zeiss lenses which have an actual human signature.

Wow I feel lucky then

Oct 09, 2017 at 09:19 PM

Fred Miranda
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p.5 #2 · p.5 #2 · FE 35mm f/1.4 arrived - looks well-centered to me. Your thoughts?

PrecisionPhoto wrote:
Wow I feel lucky then

If you are happy with the images coming out of it, that's all the matters!

Oct 09, 2017 at 09:28 PM

DavidBM
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p.5 #3 · p.5 #3 · FE 35mm f/1.4 arrived - looks well-centered to me. Your thoughts?

PrecisionPhoto wrote:
Wow I feel lucky then

I don't think Zeiss-Zeiss inspection certificates mean more; no camera maker I know of seems to optically test each lens. The inspection is just to make sure it's not pre-scratched or have some other obvious visible defect.

That's not to say on the whole that there isn't less variability with Zeiss Zeiss than most but maybe not all Sony lenses. But that's (according to those who know more about this than me) not down to the traditional idea of QC: inspecting the product and rejecting bad ones. It's instead down to the opt-mechanical design and manufacturing process design for that lens being better optimised to produce fewer lemons.

Oct 09, 2017 at 09:33 PM

PrecisionPhoto
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p.5 #4 · p.5 #4 · FE 35mm f/1.4 arrived - looks well-centered to me. Your thoughts?

Fred Miranda wrote:
If you are happy with the images coming out of it, that's all the matters!

Yeah baby

Oct 09, 2017 at 09:36 PM

philip_pj
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p.5 #5 · p.5 #5 · FE 35mm f/1.4 arrived - looks well-centered to me. Your thoughts?

"It is also for this reason that a good-size sample of the first production run of both ZF.2 and ZE lenses are carefully checked for variation and MTF, to verify that construction tolerances are being fully met. Only once those pre-production lenses are fully tested is production for public sale commenced.

Zeiss also checks each production lens for MTF. Dr. Nasse states:

We see a large number of samples (a statistically significant quantity) from series production per mount type. And they are checked deeply, i.e. at several f-stops and by measuring a complete field curve which needs at least 6 sampling points. This is a time-consuming procedure, and of course in regular production a somewhat simpler procedure is applied, but every production sample is MTF-checked before being sold to the customer. MTF-metering machines at the production facility are Oberkochen-made and are serviced by CZ-staff.

Mechanical precision and precision of assembly must necessarily be high, but each batch of glass has to be carefully checked for its refractive properties, because no batch is quite the same. Small deviations cannot be tolerated if peak performance is to be reached. The lens design must then be tweaked to accommodate slightly different refractive properties for the actual batches of glass used. Lenses are assembled in production runs accordingly."

Naoki Miyagawa (Sony FE55 designer):
"...Carl Zeiss's engineers help us a lot by their experience in quality control, we are Japanese, but the Germans are even stricter than we are."

and 'the secret':
"In addition to producing technically superb lenses, there is a touch and an emotion in the German image rendering that we would like break the secret."

Oct 10, 2017 at 07:24 PM

MrTMan
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p.5 #6 · p.5 #6 · FE 35mm f/1.4 arrived - looks well-centered to me. Your thoughts?

I'm truly astonished by the sharpness of (what was formerly) Fred's 35/1.4. Here's a shot at f/1.4, with a 1:1 crop beneath it. I didn't increase the sharpness or clarity.

35/1.4 - ISO 640 - 1/60 - f/1.4

Oct 13, 2017 at 09:36 PM

goo0h
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p.5 #7 · p.5 #7 · FE 35mm f/1.4 arrived - looks well-centered to me. Your thoughts?

Fred Miranda wrote:

so, out of curiosity, why did you sell the Sony 35/1.4? What has replaced it?

Amos

Oct 14, 2017 at 11:12 AM

Fred Miranda
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p.5 #8 · p.5 #8 · FE 35mm f/1.4 arrived - looks well-centered to me. Your thoughts?

goo0h wrote:
so, out of curiosity, why did you sell the Sony 35/1.4? What has replaced it?

Amos

I was just using my RX1RII more often. I rarely sell my lenses but keep an eye when I mention it's a 'golden copy'.

Oct 14, 2017 at 11:28 AM

Fred Miranda
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p.5 #9 · p.5 #9 · FE 35mm f/1.4 arrived - looks well-centered to me. Your thoughts?

I'm wondering how the new Samyang will compare to the 35/1.4 ZA. Anyone planning on getting one? I took a different strategy with the CV 40/1.2, but I'm just curious.

Oct 18, 2017 at 10:21 AM

Gary Clennan
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p.5 #10 · p.5 #10 · FE 35mm f/1.4 arrived - looks well-centered to me. Your thoughts?

Fred Miranda wrote:
I'm wondering how the new Samyang will compare to the 35/1.4 ZA. Anyone planning on getting one? I took a different strategy with the CV 40/1.2, but I'm just curious.

I'm also thinking the same thing. Would love to see some samples posted here....

Oct 18, 2017 at 10:24 AM

brafman
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p.5 #11 · p.5 #11 · FE 35mm f/1.4 arrived - looks well-centered to me. Your thoughts?

Wow - lucky that you got to purchase a pre-tested great copy of that lens. I'm keeping my own eyes open for one.

Oct 18, 2017 at 03:27 PM

goo0h
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p.5 #12 · p.5 #12 · FE 35mm f/1.4 arrived - looks well-centered to me. Your thoughts?

Is the production quality variance still pretty bad? By now hasn't there been some improvement?

Oct 18, 2017 at 03:50 PM

Fred Miranda
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p.5 #13 · p.5 #13 · FE 35mm f/1.4 arrived - looks well-centered to me. Your thoughts?

goo0h wrote:
Is the production quality variance still pretty bad? By now hasn't there been some improvement?

I think it's a case of production tolerance not been able to match an ambitious design. Unless Sony succeeds tightening production tolerance and lens materials, I'm not sure we will see any improvement in variance.

Oct 18, 2017 at 06:27 PM

philip_pj
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p.5 #14 · p.5 #14 · FE 35mm f/1.4 arrived - looks well-centered to me. Your thoughts?

What is inside of the FE 35/1.4?
Ken Rockwell has some opinions:
'The Sony Zeiss FE 35 is a metal shell protecting plastic innards. The metal outside is more a charade than a sign of durability. Internals: Seem like lots of plastic.'

As do Roger and Aaron at LR. Snippets:
'Sony FE lenses use electromagnets to move the focusing elements along a set of rails. Which system is better? I have no damn idea and neither do you. I doubt Sony does either, yet. But give credit where it’s due: Sony thinks outside the box and tries new stuff no one else is trying.'

'There isn’t a lot of stress on any of this and it may well hold up forever, but I’m always a little nervous when I see a plastic post moving another plastic post that moves a lever.'

LR is generally positive regarding the new tech, but they note the problems involving the front element(s):
'I’ve said several times that optically adjusting a decentered copy of this lens isn’t likely to be successful; there’s not a lot of adjustment to work with.' and 'A good copy of this lens is superb. But the copy-to-copy variation problem will, I think, take another generation to clear up.'

Main competition is Canon's 35/1.4 II, LR again:
'The mechanical construction is beyond impressive. This lens is massively over-engineered compared to any other prime we’ve ever disassembled. It’s built like a tank where it counts; on the inside. Moving parts are huge and robust. Things that will inevitably get damaged on any lens, like the front element and filter ring, are designed to be replaced easily.'

https://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2015/12/sony-fe-35mm-f1-4-za-lens-teardown/
https://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2015/12/canon-35mm-f1-4-mk-ii-teardown/

So maybe it does take time and several generations to 'get it right'. But IMO there is no excuse for failing to provided scope to repair common lens problems, particularly in an ambitious new design. I have no horse in this race, they are all wonderful - optically. And I trust I have not (overly) taken Roger out of context, these are often 'touchy topics'.

Oct 18, 2017 at 10:36 PM

goo0h
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p.5 #15 · p.5 #15 · FE 35mm f/1.4 arrived - looks well-centered to me. Your thoughts?

ugh. I had no idea.

Oct 18, 2017 at 10:58 PM

Jonathan Brady
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p.5 #16 · p.5 #16 · FE 35mm f/1.4 arrived - looks well-centered to me. Your thoughts?

Random question...

Anyone know why the 35/1.4 closes down to f/1.7 on the A7RII but f/1.8 on the A9?

Both cameras are set to 1/3 increments, btw.

Oct 22, 2017 at 07:32 PM

tristannyc
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p.5 #17 · p.5 #17 · FE 35mm f/1.4 arrived - looks well-centered to me. Your thoughts?

I have been following these types of threads for a few weeks now. My questions are the following:

Between the choice of this 35 1.4 or the 50 1.4 (i enjoy both focal lengths) which is better money spent?
I feel as though the 35 1.4 may have too many issues?

That being said, if I was to just stick to the 35mm range would the sigma art series be a better choice than this lens considering the off center focus? Is the bokah considerable. I really do care about the smooth falloff.

My last question is: I am pretty new to the 35mm focal legnth but feel it is more capable for my work these days needing more background in my fashion shots, would the 28 f/2 still give me that creamy fall off?

I shoot mainly people, portraits, and more people. Thank you all so much!

Mar 07, 2018 at 09:39 AM

MrTMan
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p.5 #18 · p.5 #18 · FE 35mm f/1.4 arrived - looks well-centered to me. Your thoughts?

Personally I prefer the rendering/falloff of the 35/1.4 versus the 50/1.4. And given that I've got a good copy of the 35, overall I prefer the 35 to the 50. But the 50/1.4 is sharper, with a bit more color/contrast/pop, and seems to have far less variation between copies. AF is slower and it's a bit heavier. But it's also a spectacular lens. If you mainly shoot people, 50mm might be a better focal length unless you really want to get in a lot of the background.

I don't have experience with the Sigma 35. It seems to have great sharpness, but the bokeh seems harsher based on all the images I've seen.

Mar 07, 2018 at 09:47 AM

ecarlino
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p.5 #19 · p.5 #19 · FE 35mm f/1.4 arrived - looks well-centered to me. Your thoughts?

i was a big fan of the Zony 35/1.4 - at or near wide open, with the right subj distance (and a central subj) it is beautiful. @ f/5.6 it's also good for city/landscapes.

but i think the first question you need to answer is foc len b/c 50 vs 35 is a big diff. through trial and error, i found a 25/50 combo works much better for me than 35/85.

also, even though it's well corrected, sharp and flat field, the zony 50/1.4 really renders quite nicely - I've migrated my files to google and can't post directly, so here's an album of Zony 50/1.4 samples if you want to review:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/NTnRw0PLfBZSf9zt1

In the few there the bokeh is a tad harsh/nervous, i had forgotten to turn off EFCS.

I just find the Batis 25 and Zony 50 to be far more versatile than the 35/1.4 - but it all depends on your intended use.

Mar 08, 2018 at 09:09 AM

tristannyc
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p.5 #20 · p.5 #20 · FE 35mm f/1.4 arrived - looks well-centered to me. Your thoughts?

ecarlino wrote:
i was a big fan of the Zony 35/1.4 - at or near wide open, with the right subj distance (and a central subj) it is beautiful. @ f/5.6 it's also good for city/landscapes.

but i think the first question you need to answer is foc len b/c 50 vs 35 is a big diff. through trial and error, i found a 25/50 combo works much better for me than 35/85.

also, even though it's well corrected, sharp and flat field, the zony 50/1.4 really renders quite nicely - I've migrated my files to google and can't post directly, so here's an...Show more →

Much appreciated. Yeah my main focal lengths are 50 and 85 I am opening up to 35 for weddings and portraits that encompass more environment. 25 is a bit too wide for what I shoot. I don't like to shoot things if I can't talk to it :P

The 50 1.4 def looks great minus the weight. But the bokeh and smooth falloff is better imo than the 55 1.8.

I ended up ordering a Samyung 35 1.4 for the time being, because I feel as though it has better across the frame sharpness which is good for portraits utilizing the 3rds of the lens while getting that nice falloff. It does look a little busy with the Bokeh in some situations but in others it looks identical to the Zony to me. My reasoning behind the purchase was needing a 35 mm now and kinda hoping sony will release a version 2 of the 35 1.4 so I can deal with a slightly "more" nervous bokeh until then for 699 versus 1400 and being that 35 mm is not my go to focal length. But trying to get out of my comfort zone for sure, while also not having to buy, return, buy return.

My only big worry about the Sammy is the chromatic aberrations. which seem to be more than the zeiss.

Mar 08, 2018 at 11:51 AM

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